Don Anthony, 50, of Warren, holds a steelhead trout he caught in Twenty Mile Creek in North East Township on April 9. The fish unofficially measured in at 34 and 3/8 inches and 21 pounds, but which could have been big enough for a state record. Anthony opted not to get the fish officially measured. CONTRIBUTED/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

NORTH EAST -- Don Anthony, of Warren, said he went about 35 years without fishing.

But when a friend convinced him to buy a license and join him on Twenty Mile Creek in North East Township just south of Lake Erie, it didn't take long for him to land the catch of a lifetime.

Anthony hauled in a massive steelhead trout on April 6 that unofficially measured in at 343/8 inches and weighed 21 pounds. If that weight is correct, it would be the all-time largest steelhead caught in the state.

The largest steelhead officially is another caught in Erie County -- a 20-pound, 3-ounce fish caught in 2001 on Walnut Creek.

"This year was the first time I ever bought a fishing license," Anthony said. "I didn't even realize until someone else told me that it'd be big enough to set a record."

If Anthony wanted to secure the record, the fish would have to be measured at a state-approved measuring station then verified by staff of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. To qualify for a record, a fish must be caught legally on public waters.

Keith Edwards, education specialist with the Fish and Boat Commission, said he had seen some photos of Anthony's fish, but his office in Meadville had not received any records applications and there were concerns the fish was caught in private waters.

Anthony, 50, said the fish was definitely caught in public waters, near where the creek feeds into Lake Erie. But he said he opted not to seek the record -- or even mount the fish -- because he doesn't consider himself much of a fisherman, and because he knew it would be a great way to goad his friend Tom Bergstue, whom Anthony described as an avid fisherman.

"It's dumb luck that I caught it," Anthony said. "(Bergstue) is a much more accomplished fisherman, and it was his pestering that helped me decide to just throw it in my freezer."

He said the fish is now in pieces, frozen and soon to be smoked. He plans to share it with some of his co-workers.

He said the fact that he missed out on a possible state record doesn't bother him.